Middle East

Qatar Pledges $480 Million and Plans to Rebuild Three Destroyed Villages in South Lebanon

This is Beirut 17:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon South Lebanon Lebanese Army Nawaf Salam Hezbollah

Qatar has decided to allocate $480 million to fund projects and investments in Lebanon, while preparing to rebuild three destroyed villages in the south, according to information obtained by daily An-Nahar. The initiative is reminiscent of Doha’s role in post-war reconstruction following the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The ...

Salam, Macron Discuss Lebanese Sovereignty, Security and Reforms in Paris

This is Beirut 23/01 23:50 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon France Reform Nawaf Salam Emmanuel Macron

On Friday evening, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss Lebanon’s internal reforms and consolidation of state control. Salam reiterated that the Lebanese state is committed to its goal of confiscating all non-state weapons on Lebanese territory. Macron stated that France will ...

U.S. to Sanction Iran’s Shadow Fleet as Details of Protest Crackdown Surface

This is Beirut 23/01 20:05 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United States Iran Sanctions Protests

On Friday, the U.S. announced that it had imposed sanctions on nine vessels and eight entities that are part of Iran’s shadow fleet, according to a press statement from State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott. The imposition of sanctions on Iranian shadow fleet vessels is a move of U.S. escalation against the Iranian ...

UN Rights Chief Urges Iran to 'End Brutal Repression'

This is Beirut 23/01 15:40 - Reading : less than a minute

Iran UN IranProtests MiddleEast Human Rights Repression

The United Nations rights chief decried Friday that "thousands" of people, including children, had died in Iran's crackdown on nationwide protests and urged the authorities to "end their brutal repression." Speaking at the start of a UN Human Rights Council urgent meeting on the situation in Iran, Volker Turk urged the authorities in Tehran "to ...

Yoav Gallant: Lebanon at a Crossroads

This is Beirut 23/01 15:30 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Lebanon Hezbollah Israel Middle East Tehran

Former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant wrote an article titled “Written in Ink, Signed in Fire,” in which he offers a description of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict, arguing that agreements alone do not produce lasting peace unless they are backed by military superiority that imposes facts on the ground. In the article, ...

Iran Dismisses Trump’s Claim He Prevented 800 Hangings

This is Beirut 23/01 13:45 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Donald Trump Israel Middle East Tehran Ukraine

Iran's Attorney General said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump's allegations that Tehran stopped the execution of 800 detained protesters because of his intervention are "absolutely incorrect.” According to the judiciary’s Mizan news agency, Mohammad Mohebi said, “This claim is entirely ...

Netanyahu Joins Gaza Board of Peace Despite Misgivings

This is Beirut 23/01 10:30 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Benjamin Netanyahu Donald Trump Hamas Israel Gaza USA

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to take part in the U.S.-led Board of Peace overseeing postwar Gaza, despite mounting unease within Israel’s leadership over the structure and membership of the body, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Thursday. The decision, the official said, reflects the reality of Israel’s ...

U.S. Weighs Full Military Withdrawal From Syria

This is Beirut 23/01 09:50 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

USA Donald Trump Middle East Syria Kurds

The United States is considering a full military withdrawal from Syria, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which said Washington is reassessing its presence amid rapidly changing conditions on the ground. The newspaper reported that internal discussions within the Trump administration are exploring multiple scenarios to reduce, or ...

Trump Says U.S. Still Watching Iran, Fleet Sailing to Region

This is Beirut 23/01 09:30 - Reading : 1 minute(s)

Donald Trump USA Iran USNavy IranProtests

President Donald Trump said Thursday a US naval "armada" was heading toward the Gulf, maintaining pressure on Iran, although he has recently downplayed the prospect of imminent military action. Last week, Trump pulled back from a threat to strike Iran over its deadly crackdown on anti-government protests after the White House said Tehran had ...

Kurdish SDF Fighters Leave North Syria Prison Under Govt Deal: State Media

This is Beirut 23/01 09:15 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Damascus Turkey United States USA

Syria said early Friday that government forces had begun transferring Kurdish fighters from a prison in the north where they had been holding Islamic State group detainees, as part of a weekend agreement. An AFP correspondent in Raqa saw buses and cars heading away from the Al-Aqtan prison on the city's outskirts overnight, escorted by ...

Iraq Says to Start Legal Proceedings against IS Detainees Moved from Syria

This is Beirut 22/01 22:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

United Nations USA Washington

Iraq's judiciary said Thursday it would launch legal proceedings against Islamic State group detainees transferred from Syria to Iraq as part of a US operation. "The Iraqi judiciary will begin standard legal proceedings against the defendants who are received and placed in the relevant correctional institutions," the Supreme Judicial Council ...

Tens of Thousands Rally against Surging Arab-Israeli Crime

This is Beirut 22/01 20:40 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Israel

Tens of thousands of people gathered in northern Israel on Thursday to protest what they said was the police's inaction on curbing soaring violent crime in Arab-Israeli communities. The march in the city of Sakhnin coincided with a general strike in Arab cities and towns across the country, calling for action on the same issue. Under a grey sky ...